Pliers for split shot



Oct. 27, 1953 J. GLASS, JR., ETAL PLIERS FOR SPLIT SHOT Filed F'Ob. 25, 1949 I N VEN TOR.

JOHN GLASS, JR. ROBERT J. HEATH- CHARLES F WOLLER.

Patented Oct. 27, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT PLIERS FOR SPLIT SHOT John Glass, Jr., New York, N. Y., and Robert J. Heath and Charles F. Weller, Muskegon, Mich.

Application February 23, 1949, Serial No. 77,964 3 Claims. (01. 81--15) This invention relates to fishermens tools, and

more particularly to a tool of the pliers type,

which is used to attach a split shot sinker to a fish line or the like, and also to remove such a sinker from a line without injury to either the sinker or the line. Although this is the specific purpose of the tool illustrated in the drawing and described in detail hereinafter, it will be understood that the present invention is not to be considered as limited thereto.

Fishermen use weights or sinkers of various types. One type, having a number of advantages, is known as a split shot or clamp-on sinker. It is a sphere of lead having a diametrical split half way through it. To secure such a weight or sinker to a fish line, leader, net, etc., it is merely necessary to slip it over a line and press the two halves or lips together to grip the line therebetween. These sinkers are manufactured in several sizes and one or more may be used to obtain a desired amount of weight.

In the past there has been no convenient means for clamping such a split shot to grip a line or spreading it to detach it from a line. Any tool in the fishermans kit, as a knife or screwdriver, was used for spreading, and a stone, shoe or the like might be used to press the lips together. This haphazard use of these excellent sinkers was further aggravated by the fact that a fishermans hands were usually wet, cold or slippery which, as often as not, resulted in cut or bashed fingers. Hence, a tool to facilitate the use of these sinkers, particularly under adverse fishing conditions, is most welcome to fishermen.

One object of the present invention is to provide a device which will spread the lips of a split shot sinker sufficiently to allow it to be threaded on a fish line,

Another object is to provide such a tool which will clamp a split shot sinker so as to urge its two lips toward each other and thereby cause it to grip a fish line positioned therebetween, without damaging said sinker or line.

Another object is to provide such a device which will readily pry apart the lips of such a sinker, when it is secured to a line, so that said sinker may be removed from the line without damaging either said sinker or said line.

Another object is to provide such a tool which includes a relatively sharp edged wedge-like blade and a jaw opposing it, 'andalso suitable means to limit the movement of said blade, so as to protect its sharp edge from being dulled by contact with said jaw;

Another object is to provide such a tool wherein, after the sinker is spread, it is loosened from the blade so as to obviate the necessity of prying it from the blade.

Still another object is to provide such a tool which preferably may be small and fiat (for convenience in storing in pocket or tackle box), but which nevertheless provides accelerated movement of the jaws to enable them to be sufliciently opened, by limited movements of the handles, for practical usefulness, despite the relatively small size of the tool.

Yet another object is to provide such a tool which has a slot to accommodate and guide a fish line so as to allow a split shot sinker to be spread for removal from said line without interfering with or damaging said line.

A further object is to provide a device to achieve the foregoing objects which a fisherman can use conveniently and effectively when his hands are slippery or wet or cold, and which is small enough, and preferably flat enough, to be kept in his tackle box or pocket or hung from his clothing.

Still other objects will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

We accomplish the foregoing objects by a plierlike tool provided with two opposing jaws, the operational movement of at least one of which jaws is accelerated so as to obtain, in a relatively small tool, sufficient spacing between the jaws, in their open positions, to allow the insertion of a split shot type of sinker, of any standard size. Said jaws are of different lengths, and the shorter one (which for convenience we will refer to as the wedge jaw) is provided at its extremity with a wedge-like blade extending toward the longer jaw (which we will call the slotted jaw), the latter being provided with a slot at its extremity to accommodate a fish line during the operation of removing a sinker therefrom, and also being provided with a kerf to protect the edge of the blade when the jaws are fully closed.

A preferred embodiment of our invention is shown in the annexed drawing, wherein,

Figure l is a side elevation of a fishermans tool embodying the present invention, shown during the step of clamping a split shot sinker on a fish line;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary top view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a split shot sinker secured to a line;

Figure 4 is an enlarged right end view of the tool of Figure 1, shown, however, with the sinker ntary side elef the jaws of the the step of reallow its removal Figure 5, wherein the operation of hot preparatory e drawing, the With plit two on, the position although enient posis a pair of hich are pivof a rivet 23. s made of a fiat illustr of course it tion. The to crossed handle otally coupled toget The upper handle me t elongated piece of met includes, at its rearward end, an upper h 25 which is suit ably curved to fit the handand is pierced by a hanger hole Z'I'for a thong 25 by which the tool may be fastened or hung, as on a fishermans belt. At its forward or operating end, said handIe member I9 is provided with a lower slotted jaw 3|. Said lower jaw 3| has an upwardly facing serrated'clamping surface 33. The forward extremity of said lower jaw 3| is bifurcated, being out by a vertically disposed fish line slot 35. Just back of said slot 35', the clamping surface 33 is cut by a shallow and narrow, horizontally disposed kerf 31.

The lower handle member 2| is preferably made up of two flat elongated pieces of metal of similar configuration which, at their rearward ends/are contiguous and'are welded, or otherwise intimately bonded together, so as to form a unitary lower handle 39, which is curved to fit the hand. Forward of said lower handle 39 the said two pieces are offset so as to provide two forwardly extending, operating fingers 4|, 43 which are mutually parallel and spaced from each other. The upper handle member I9 is flanked by said operating fingers 4|, 43 of the lower handle member 2| (as clearly illustrated in Figures 2 and 4).

Also extending between said operating fingers 4|, 43 is an upper wedge jaw 45, which is loosely pivotally coupled to the forward extremities of the fingers 4|, 43 by means of a floating rivet 4 1, and is also pivotally coupled to the upper handle member |9 by means of a blind pivot pin 49. Said pin 49, in all operational positions of our tool, is always positioned between the fingers 4|, 43 of the lower handle member 2| and hence cannot escape from pivot holes in said upper handle member l9 and the upper jaw 45, through which it extends. The floating rivet 41 extends through a circular hole (not shown) in the upper jaw 45, through an arcuate limit slot 5| in the 7 upper handle member l9 and through horizontally elongated pivot slots 53 which pierce the forward ends of the fingers 4| 43 and are in register. The limit slot 5| describes an arc of a circle about the axis of the blind pivot pin 49. V The forward portion of the upper jaw 45 is ofiset slightly so as to bring it directly over the kerf 31, referred to above, of the lower jaw 3|. The forward extremity of said upper jaw 45 terminates in a wedge-shaped blade 51 which has a sharp knife edge 59 on its lower end. When the jaws 3|, 45 are in their closed positions, the said edge 59 of the blade 57 extends down into the kerf 31, but does not come into physical contact with any part of the lower jaw 3|, as downward pivotal movement of the upper jaw 45 is restricted by the lower end of the arcuate limit slot 5|. This slot 5| confines movement of the floating rivet 41, which passes through a hole in the upper jaw 45. Just rearward of the blade 51, the upper jaw 45has a recessed, downwardly facing serrated clamping surface 6|.

The blind pivot pin 49 is located just forward of the rivet 23 and the floating rivet 41 is a short distance forward of said pin 49. The rivet 23 is fitted with a spacer washer 63 positioned between the upper handle member l9 and the finger 4|.

When using the present device a fisherman may find it most convenient to han it from his belt by a thong 29 through the hanger hole 21, or he may tie it to his tackle box or to the gunwale of his boat.

The operation of our tool is as follows: Firstto spread apart the lips l1, I! of a split shot sinker H (as shown in Figure 6) to allow a fish line |3 or the like to be diametrically positioned in the split I5, the jaws 3|, 45 are first opened, by moving the handles 25, 39 apart. A sinker may then be positioned upon the clamping surface 33 of the lower jaw 3|, just below-the blade 57. The sinker II is positioned with its split l5 facing upwardly (Figure 5) so that, upon moving the jaws 3|, 45 toward each other, the knife edge 59 of the blade 51 will enter directly into the split l5 and spread the lips I1, I"! apart by a wedging action. The sinker may then be removed from the blade 51 and a fish line I3 may be placed diametrically within the split |5.

Second-to clamp the lips H, H of a split shot together to secure it to a fish line |3 placed between said lips (as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3), the sinker, with the fish line in the split I5, is placed between the upper and lower clamping surfaces 6|, 33. The'split |5 should be horizontally disposed (as in Figure 1) and the sinker II should be set to one side (as in Figure 2) so that the clamping surfaces 6|, 33, respectively, contact the lips H, H. Moving the jaws 3|, 45 toward each other will then press the lips l1, I! together to securely grip the line 3 therebetween.

Thirdto reopen a split shot sinker H to remove it from a fish line 3, said sinker and line are positioned (as shown in Figure 5)- in our tool so that the line is vertically disposed and extends through the line slot 35fand the split I5 is vertically positioned and faces rearwardly toward the handles 25, 39. When the corner of the blade 51 will enter one end'of the split I5 and will move downwardly through said split until it is spread apart. The line l3 will not be touched as it will be beyond the extremity of the blade 51. It should also be noted that the blade 51 will continue beyond the lower end ofthe split l5 and into the kerf 31 sufiiciently to allow the sinker H to be readily released from said blade. The line 3 may then be freed from the sinker 7 As pointed out above, accelerating the movement of one of the jaws resultsin a relatively small tool. This accelerated movement is accomplished by having the upper jaw 45 separate from the lower handle member 2| and having said jaw 45 pivotally coupled to both said lower handle member 2| (by the floating rivet ll) and the upper handle member l9 (by the blind pivot pin 49), and having the rivet 41 closer to the pin 49 than to the rivet 23. This causes the jaw 45 to swing through a greater angular distance than the lower handle member 2|, by which it is actuated. All of the parts are made of flat metal and hence the cost is kept down and the finished tool is relatively flat so as to fit easily into a pocket or elsewhere.

What we claim is:

1. A plier-like tool of the character described comprising a first handle member including a first handle at its rearward end and a first jaw at its forward end, a second handle member including a second handle at its rearward end and a pair of spaced parallel operating fingers at its forward end, said first handle member passing between said fingers, a fixed rivet passing through said fingers and said first handle member to pivotally couple said handle members together for plier-like operation, a second jaw passing between said fingers, a pivot pin disposed forward of said fixed rivet and between said imgers and passing through said first handle member and said second jaw to pivotally couple said last named member and jaw together, a floating rivet disposed forward of said pivot pin and passing through longitudinally extending slots in the forward ends of said fingers, through said second jaw and through a limit slot in said first handle member to pivotally couple said last mentioned fingers, jaw and member together, said limit slot being of arcuate configuration and described about the axis of said pivot pin, and one end of said limit slot cooperating with said floating rivet to limit movement of said jaws toward each other.

2. In a tool of the character described, first and second jaws, and means to actuate said jaws to opened and closed positions and to prevent their movements beyond said positions, said' first jaw including, at its extremity, a wedge-like blade, said second jaw including a substantially longitudinally kerfed clamping surface, the blade and the kerf in the clamping surface being opposingly aligned and the kerf being of sufiicient depth so that, when the jaws are in their closed positions, the blade extends into the kerf and is spaced from its base, and the second jaw having an extremity which, when the jaws are in their closed poistions, extends forward beyond the blade and which extremity is provided with a slot extending through said second jaw in the plane of movement of said blade.

3. In a tool for removing a split shot sinker from a line, the combination of a fixed jaw including a clamping surface, a movable jaw including a wedge-shaped blade, means to actuate said movable jaw to move the apex edge of said blade toward said surface and means to guide a line in a direction generally parallel to said movement of said blade and out of the path of said blade, whereby a split shot sinker may be removed from a line by positioning the sinker upon the clamping surface with the line threaded through said line guiding means and moving said blade toward said surface and lengthwise through the split of said sinker and substantially parallel to and spaced from said line, said line guiding means being a slot through the end of the fixed jaw in the plane of movement of the blade, the base of the slot being forward of the edge of the blade and substantially at right angles to the edge of the blade when in its closed position.

JOHN GLASS, JR. ROBERT J. HEATH. CHARLES F. WOLLER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 404,811 Wiohelhaus June 4, 1889 456,352 Boecker July 21, 1891 638,468 McKellops Dec. 5, 1899 838,920 Varnedoe Dec. 18, 1906 1,290,331 Partlow Jan. 7, 1919 1,389,584 Goodridge Sept. 6, 1921 1,850,664 Daniels Mar. 22, 1932 1,883,081 Sturm Oct. 18, 1932 1,969,129 Harz Aug. 7, 1934 2,384,822 Drmic Sept. 18, 1945 2,571,819 Boel et a1. Oct. 16, 1951 

